5 Skin Tips For Fitness Chicks

I have a major love-hate with fitness—anyone else? While it’s amazing for your body and mind, I’ve personally had a history of skin issues related to sweat sessions. I’ve always—or so I thought—taken great care of my skin, but turns out I was doing some major skin no-no’s when it came to working out. After stalking my dermatologist and the web for answers, I’ve come up with a few things that work for me. Here are 5 easy ways to combat breakouts while staying fit (yay):

Shower ASAP

Don’t judge me, but after a workout I used to head out for the grocery store or whatever other errands were on my list. Sometimes I’d seriously be in my gym clothes for half a day after working out…gross, I know! Apparently your skin sitting in sweat, especially being constricted by tight workout clothes, is horrible for it. I now rearrange my schedule to do errands pre-workout and hop in the shower right after.

Body brush + wash

If I’m doing a lot of cardio aka sweating, I’ll notice an unfortunate trend of bacne—blah. My derm recommended exfoliation to help with the issue, so I’ll put a little of this on a long-handled body brush and lightly scrub my back in the shower. It feels soooo good and my back has cleared up completely, thank goodness!

No makeup, ever

I never did this on purpose, but sometimes I’d workout after a day in the office or whatever—and I’d have makeup on. Any sort of makeup can clog your pores and lead to a breakout, so I’m now adamant about washing or wiping my makeup off pre-workout. It only takes a minute and not only does my face just feel better sans everything, but I’m noticing less blemishes as well.

Clean hands

I’ve always been OK at this while at a gym, but I sucked at cleaning my hands after a workout outside—I just never really thought about it. My derm told me that dirty hands can be a huge contributor to zits since you touch your face a ton without even realizing it. If I go on a hike or something where there isn’t a sink nearby, I now bring hand sanitizer or wipes to clean my fingers. And keeping hands off your face in general is a great idea.

Extra moisturize

Since I tend to shower more when I’m on top of my fitness game, it’s imperative to up the moisture game to counteract hot, drying water. I’m sure to add more oil and thick lotion to my skin (face + body) and hands after workouts.

All that plus a ton of H20 and my skin is finally happy! What tips do you have for a mix of clean skin + fitness? Spill!